Fan Ownership

Is he not supposed to have fallen out with Kenny McDowall for saying Cowdenbeath train harder than us?

Perhaps worth reading the full conversation? https://twitter.com/CemetryGates89/status/571263896822132737 https://twitter.com/CemetryGates89/status/571651911256023040 http://tl.gd/n_1skuvr4 Seems a case of misunderstanding.

@tomjohnstone · (1 of 2) Elected reps of Rangers Fans' Board have just received letters that the RFB is to be dissolved under Art 23.1 of Constitution. @tomjohnstone · (2 of 2) Response sent that no power exists under Art 23.1 of the Constitution. I think they mean Art 22.1 between us...

And it replaced a loan from where?

It won't be as bad as that across the entire year, only at the current time. February through to season ticket renewals is the biggest cash burn in all football clubs due to the nature of the cash flow. Clearly it's still bad, but it's not like that at all points of the year. There's a gap of about £10m, but if we were working all income streams to our own benefit and really drawing value from all our expenditure we could probably have got that down to below £3m, I reckon, over the past couple of years. We were always going to lose money being out of the top division, but we could have got back to the top flush with only the initial share issue if things had been done properly.

Just how many times is this forum going to fall for the fake SunSport story? Happened twice with Lee Wallace and supposedly going to Brighton. Has happened at least once with McCoist supposedly getting sacked. The next day comes and goes and the story isn't in any paper.

That's not how it works though. For example, if you have an accounting qualification, you can put yourself forward to take that position on the board. The hope is that 4 or 5 candidates put themselves forward and the winner of an election is elected to the board. That's completely democratic. As has been said about 4,000,000 times on this thread, the members run the organisation. Directors are only there to meet the formal requirements, chances are they'll only meet 4 times/year. The Board serves no other purpose than to tick regulatory boxes, be legal signatories etc. The organisation is run by the members and the work is carried out by the working groups - which ANY member can be a part of should they wish. There are already too many fan organisations with swollen boards full of people who, despite being well intentioned, have no ability to actually perform the task required of them. Half the time these board meetings become an excuse to get together, share rumours and be in the know. It's pointless and it's exactly why you end up with perceived cliques. You have to move away from that. Members will vote on strategy, the organisation works to that strategy, the Board carries out regulatory function.

DOUBLE POST

Appointed by the members, yes. And being qualified is a bad thing now? You don't have to be an elected director to contribute. There will continue to be large working groups with people all helping how they can. The working group meetings will be far more frequent than actual Board meetings, because the working groups will be performing most of the tasks - the qualified directors are there to oversee it and make sure everything is meeting regulatory standards. You do have to have areas of expertise to be able to fulfil the roles required. No offence to anyone here, but if you work as a delivery driver are you going to be able to develop commercial strategy or be the treasurer? Supporters Direct Scotland and Enabling Sport CIC will interview all prospective candidates with a view to making sure they fully grasp the legal responsibilities that becoming a Director of a CIC involves. ES will also act as returning officer and scrutiniser and will help with an induction programme for successful candidates.

Perhaps you missed my post earlier in the thread? None of this stuff is set in stone. Members can decide that shares are voted proprtionally should they choose. It's a member's organisation, they choose how it operates. As for your continued comments on proxies - I'll say again, long term proxies are not an option. Your reply of it being against "UK Financial Law" didn't really negate that point. Shareholders are allowed to appoint proxies, but they're only guaranteed that right for one meeting at a time. That means you can't gather proxies until everyone gets their AGM notice in the post, you then have to get them to post the proxy form to you and hope they've filled it out correctly. Perhaps once we gain enough of an influence to change this long term proxy situation the outlook on this may change, but for now it doesn't give the necessary influence. The fan group essentially has authority for 7 days in the lead up to an AGM, with no time to propose motions and no influence at all throughout the rest of the year. A toothless organisation. I'd wager that even if fans individually owned 25%+1 of the shares, if the board petitioned shareholders for consent to sell off all our assets, despite fans having the influence to block it by themselves - we wouldn't exert the influence. The power of the collective is stronger than the power of many individuals in this sense.

If the membership decided, then RF could implement a system which allows the shareholding of Rangers First to be utilised at AGM's in relation to the split in choice. If 50% vote for something and 50% against, then 50% of the shares are voted for and 50% voted against. In that case it would work in such a way you could never be denied your democratic voice at the AGM.

The company doesn't allow long term proxies - other than to Sandy Easdale. It's been asked an answered already. Essentially, what you're suggesting is that the organisation organises the proxies of 5,000-20,000 small shareholders in roughly 7 days - it's impossible in the short-term. Perhaps greater collaboration can be achieved by the creation of some sort of shareholders association, but it can't guarantee permanent influence at short notice as things stand. I wouldn't discourage anyone from doing things on their own - it's better than doing nothing - but I think there are obvious limitations to it. Rangers fans own 12% of the shares just now. Remember the farce last year with Jim McColl, Paul Murray and the Board at that time all embarrassing the shit out the club? If that 12% was organised it could've banged heads and sorted that shite out by nipping it in the bud. Perhaps an idea for RF would be for them to sell each new member one solitary share in the company, however? Allowing all RF member access to the RIFC AGM.

Absolutely agree.

Well worth 5 minutes of your time. Inspiring stuff.

Whilst those who didn't renew certainly haven't helped, it's the beginning of September and we can't repay a £1m loan. The problems extend way beyond the 10,000 fans who haven't renewed. That probably represents about a £3m loss, which doesn't touch the sides really. There's probably a £15m deficit over and above that just to keep us running until the end of the season. We're being raped commercially by Sports Direct. Overpaying management and coaches by a factor of 4. Overpaying directors and executives, and still paying 100% bonuses. Further to that, we have a large squad of players over the age of 30 earning salaries they'll never get anywhere else and to top it all off we have a general cost base which, despite contributing to administration, still hasn't been tackled - in fact, it's actually increased since then. So should you take up your obligation? It's not for me to tell you what to do, but I firmly believe the club needs it. You don't have to believe in the Board or the direction the club is moving in, the club just needs the money or there will be serious problems. Ibrox or Murray Park sold or borrowed against or/and administration are the likely outcomes if we don't secure the money necessary in the short term. Tragic that it's come to this, but we're here, all we can do is deal with it. I think we should take up our options. For those of us who don't own any shares, I also believe we should do our bit too - Rangers First have opened a donation page, why not have two pints less this week and stick a fiver in? The money will be used to help buy shares over and above the offer limit and help get the money needed into the club. If that's not to your liking, I'm not sure what the other groups who own shares are doing but worth enquiring and asking. Both the RST and Vanguard Bears own shares too, I assume they'll be hoping to take up their options.